Chapter 62: Reunion of Brothers, Peak Dou Wang

Mantie Mercenary Corps, encampment.

A young man with a fierce expression was gathering men.

"Deputy Commander, we have returned safely." A voice came from behind. Xiao Li turned around in surprise and saw Xue Lan.

"Aren't you surrounded by the Snake-people?" Xiao Li asked, somewhat puzzled. The Snake-people were not easy to deal with; they were crafty, cunning, and skilled in using poison.

Xue Lan brushed back a strand of hair and smiled, "Thanks to this young brother here, he saved us along the way."

As she spoke, as if remembering something, she turned slightly. "By the way, young brother, what is your name?"

"Xiao Yan!" Upon hearing the deputy commander's voice, Xue Lan was momentarily stunned. They knew each other?

At that moment, her gaze shifted between the two, and she realized their faces indeed shared some similarities.

"Second Brother." Xiao Yan smiled and opened his arms.

Xiao Li also smiled, rushed forward, and embraced Xiao Yan.

Xue Lan's mouth fell open in astonishment. So he was Deputy Commander Xiao Li's younger brother...

Those around them were also somewhat taken aback. Up until now, Xiao Li's face had almost always been cold and stern; such a warm smile was truly a first for them.

"Eldest Brother, Third Brother has arrived!" Xiao Li shouted loudly toward the inner rooms.

A young man in white robes stepped out, and upon seeing Xiao Yan, he rushed over in excitement.

***

Front hall.

The three brothers sat down respectively.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, an incredulous look appeared on Xiao Yan's face: "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, did I hear that right? My eldest brother has been here before?"

"Yes, a little less than half a year ago." A trace of nostalgia flickered in Xiao Ding's eyes as a smile curved the corner of his mouth, "At that time, he asked us to help dig for something. Did you know? Back then, your second brother told me that if we really dug up any treasure, we should hide it and send it to your eldest brother."

Xiao Li nodded, "That's right. Back then, I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence, and since I'd always been away and had never seen your eldest brother's face, I really didn't know that lord was your brother."

"How did you find out later?" Xiao Yan felt a wave of warmth in his heart and asked curiously.

Xiao Ding then recounted the matter regarding Qing Lin. Moreover, the fact that the Mantie Mercenary Corps had grown to its current size and instantly become the top mercenary corps in Shimo City was also inseparable from Lord Cang Wang.

As it turned out, ever since Qing Lin expressed that she did not want to leave, she had been living with the Mantie Mercenary Corps, and the magical beast in her possession had become the corps' greatest reliance.

The former Sand Mercenary Corps' leader was simply not on the same level of strength as a Dou Ling-tier magical beast.

After a few clashes, the Sand Mercenary Corps ended in utter failure each time, and gradually they had no face left to stay in Shimo City, so they packed up and moved away.

Xiao Ding earnestly said to Xiao Yan, "You must keep the kindness that Lord Cang Wang has shown our Xiao family firmly engraved in your heart. In the future, given the opportunity, even if it means going through fire and boiling water, our Xiao family must repay it. Do you understand?"

***

"Eldest Brother, I'm not a child anymore. Stop nagging me like Father always does. Eldest Brother's kindness toward me has always been kept in my heart. When the opportunity arises in the future, I will definitely repay it." Xiao Yan said with a serious expression.

Xiao Li gave a faint smile, "Little Brother, why don't you stay with us from now on."

"Alright." Xiao Yan did not refuse.

He was going to train in the desert anyway, and Shimo City was close to the desert, plus his two older brothers were here.

When night fell, as they had dinner together, Xiao Yan met the young girl named Qing Lin.

After the two introduced themselves, upon learning that Xiao Yan was Hun Cang's younger brother, Qing Lin acted extremely polite and even patted her chest with full confidence, declaring that if anyone in Shimo City dared to bully him, he should come to her.

Xiao Yan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Over the next half year, Xiao Yan continuously ventured into the desert, and his strength grew at a rapid pace.

When he first arrived at the mercenary corps, Xiao Li had smilingly wanted to test his younger brother's strength, only to be easily thrashed by Xiao Yan in three moves.

Now, Xiao Yan's strength had reached the Four-Star Da Dou Shi level. This rocket-like rate of improvement made both elder brothers, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, feel somewhat unbalanced in their hearts.

Especially when Xiao Yan took time off to visit the Alchemist Guild and successfully obtained the status of a Tier 2 Alchemist.

The brothers Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were practically driven to autism.

Strictly speaking, they were Xiao Yan's biological brothers, yet it turned out they treated their younger brother worse than a stranger did. It was truly shameful.

Furthermore, the two of them felt some regret for having gone out to wander and build their own faction; after all their hard work over so many years, it wasn't as convenient as their younger brother making friends with such a powerful benefactor.

Xiao Yan was younger than them, yet his strength now surpassed theirs, and he was even an alchemist. No matter where he went in the future, based solely on this alchemist identity, he would command far more respect than mercenary corps leaders like themselves.

***

Meanwhile, at Canaan Academy.

As time passed, the Fire Energy gradually diminished until it was finally completely exhausted.

Sensing the change in the surrounding environment, Hun Cang slowly opened his eyes on the Black Jade Lotus Platform.

Standing up to the ground, Hun Cang clenched his hands, let out a long breath, and slowly calmed the surging Dou Qi within his body: "Dou Wang peak, huh... Faster than I imagined. The acceleration effect of the Fallen Heart Flame is truly terrifying."

According to Hun Cang's estimation, it would take him one hundred and fifty days to advance to the Dou Wang stage, but it shouldn't have reached the Dou Wang peak quite this fast.

In reality, however, that was not the case.

"I can now consider bringing the matter of subduing the Fallen Heart Flame onto the agenda." Having returned to the peak of the Dou Wang stage, Hun Cang felt a certain level of confidence in subduing the Fallen Heart Flame.

However, there was still a troublesome matter at hand.

The Fallen Heart Flame had been sealed at the bottom of the tower by the predecessors of Canaan Academy using a special method.

And descending to the bottom of the tower was no easy task.

***

Puts away his things, Hun Cang suppressed his strength, exuding a pressure similar to that of a Dou Ling, and pushed open the door to walk out.

Glancing toward the corner, the elder on duty had been replaced. When Hun Cang walked out, the other party didn't even lift an eyelid.

Leaving the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, Hun Cang decided to return to his residence first.

Along the way, Hun Cang noticed that gazes were constantly being cast his way, accompanied by pointing and whispering.

Paying it no mind, he walked straight back to his quarters and first freshened up with a wash.

Knock, knock, knock!

The urgent knocking on the door disrupted Hun Cang's train of thought. He opened the door.

"Lin Fang? Is there something you need?" Hun Cang looked at the visitor with some confusion.

Lin Fang panted heavily and said, "I've finally found you! These past few days, Luo Fei, Ke Yu, and the others have been trying to cause trouble for you, but since they couldn't find you, they turned their target toward Xiao Yu and Xiao Mei. Now they are being forced to drop out of school."

Because he had received help during the assessment, he had always wanted to find an opportunity to repay Hun Cang.

Unfortunately, that opportunity never arose.

So Lin Fang changed his approach. Wasn't Hun Cang on good terms with Xiao Yu and the others? He began frequently going over to help out.

As time went on, they grew familiar with one another. Lin Fang learned that the reason Hun Cang took care of the Xiao family was fundamentally because a member of their Xiao family was Hun Cang's younger brother.

Upon learning this, Lin Fang was somewhat surprised, but he didn't ponder too deeply on it, simply continuing to help out from time to time.

Later, Luo Fei, Ke Yu, and those other students from the inner court joined forces, intending to teach Hun Cang a lesson.

To their surprise, however, Hun Cang seemed to have vanished from the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, not showing his face for nearly half a year.

Many students of the inner court then dismissed the idea.

However, the incident where Luo Fei had been stepped on underfoot had spread throughout the inner court. Having lost face, he targeted the members of the Xiao family instead, releasing harsh words that he would make it impossible for them to survive in the outer court.

He wanted everyone to know the price of offending members of the Jade Luo Sect.

Today happened to be the day of the final showdown.

Previously, people had successively dueled Xiao Yu and Xiao Mei, and the latter had continuously suffered defeats.

If they lost this very last match, they would face the outcome of expulsion, and even the teachers would no longer be able to protect them.